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Advance Warning System For Solar Flares Hinges On Surprising Hypothesis

cylonlover writes "Scientists may have hit upon a new means of predicting solar flares more than a day in advance, which hinges on a hypothesis dating back to 2006 that solar activity affects the rate of decay of radioactive materials on Earth. Study of the phenomenon could lead to a new system which monitors changes in gamma radiation emitted from radioactive materials, and if the underlying hypothesis proves correct (abstract), this could lead to solar flare advance warning systems that would assist in the protection of satellites, power systems and astronauts."

4 of 199 comments (clear)

  1. Re:But then by rwise2112 · · Score: 5, Funny

    radioactive decay is not as random as we thought. So where do we get random numbers that are good?

    Pentium processors?

    --

    "For every expert, there is an equal and opposite expert"
  2. Re:But then by K.+S.+Kyosuke · · Score: 4, Funny

    How about carbon dating then? I have no idea, just asking in case someone knows offhand.

    Don't worry, you're not the only one here who doesn't how to date carbon, especially if nitrogen, oxygen and hydrogen are also involved.

    --
    Ezekiel 23:20
  3. Re:Not Eureka by maxwell+demon · · Score: 4, Funny

    the young earthers are already jumping on this to try and disprove carbon dating

    Apparently the effect slows the rate of decay, meaning the isotopes are actually slightly older than estimated.

    True believers are above such mundane details. ;-)

    --
    The Tao of math: The numbers you can count are not the real numbers.
  4. Re:But then by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    A planet much further away would be less effected by changes in the sun thanks to inverse square law. I suggest pulling random numbers out of uranus.